Jet post assemblies such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,359 provide both structural support and an air curtain over the floor panel structure of a cotton harvester row unit discharge compartment to increase the cotton-handling capacity of the compartment and prevent clogging in damp, high yield cotton. Air is bled from a nozzle located on the cotton conveying duct and channeled through upright structural posts connected to the floor panel structure. Lower outlets in the posts direct air over the floor panel structure. The air preserves the kinetic energy of the doffed cotton and positively directs cotton to the discharge opening.
Recent cotton harvesters such as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,821,947 and 5,519,988 include inline drum units wherein cotton removed from plants by spindles on the drums is directed rearwardly in door structure extending rearwardly alongside the drums. The existing front air jet post structure provides a curtain of air which helps propel the cotton rearwardly. In adverse conditions, such as in high yielding cotton or in damp cotton, plugging is still a common problem because the air stream near the rear drum is insufficient to keep the cotton moving over the floor of the door structure. Providing improved cotton flow without requiring significant additional fan output and without adversely cluttering the narrow area above the row unit has heretofore been a continuing source of problems.